Subjective organization and the visibility of illusory contours

The effects of the differential organization of a Necker cube on the percei ved salience of an embedded illusory triangle were examined. Overall figura l salience was greater when the triangle appeared to be localized on the fr ont rather than the tack cube face. Illusory contour salience also increase d with increasing inducing area contrast and was greater when the figure wa s oriented on cardinal as compared to oblique coordinates. However, the lat ter effects were independent of perceived location within the cube. The fin ding that subjective organizational and structural factors influenced the p erceived salience of the illusory figure but did not interact is consistent with van Tuijl and Leeuwenberg's (1982) suggestion that top-down and botto m-up determinants can operate independently in illusory contour perception.